KUALA LUMPUR – The Madani Government Political Secretaries Council will be following through with its promise to write to the minister in charge of parliamentary affairs to urge for Putrajaya MP Datuk Radzi Jidin’s suspension.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s senior political secretary Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin said that the move is in line with the council’s earlier statement calling for the Bersatu lawmaker to be punished for his “rude” behaviour in the Dewan Rakyat.
He added that the council will send a letter to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said by October 6, as Parliament is scheduled to sit again on October 9.
“Motions (in Parliament) can only be put forth by ministers or MPs, so our (the council’s) recourse is through this official letter,” said Shamsul, the council’s chairman, when contacted by Scoop.
Last week, Shamsul said that the council would request for Azalina to start proceedings on Radzi’s suspension from his MP duties to serve as a lesson to all lawmakers on parliamentary etiquette.
“It is simply unacceptable when a former senior minister fails to adhere to the Rukun Negara principles on courtesy and morality. Radzi’s rude action that was broadcast throughout the country cannot be ignored,” Shamsul said at the time.
He had also criticised the Bersatu vice president for refusing to heed directives from Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul, who the council said had followed the necessary steps under Standing Order 36(6) on how no member shall impute improper motives to any other member.
On September 19, Radzi was booted out of Parliament after he caused a ruckus after a statement from Anwar, refusing to sit down even after Johari had ruled that Anwar need not retract his comment.
Anwar, who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, was explaining the controversial conditional discharge granted to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in his graft case, when he said that Radzi could “laugh, but your administration did the same thing.”
Opposition MPs then staged a walkout from the Dewan Rakyat in an apparent show of solidarity with Radzi. – September 28, 2023